NBA Rumors: Sacramento Kings Target Both Josh Smith, Rajon Rondo

The Sacramento Kings are reportedly set to make bold moves in the next two years, as they set their sight on All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith, a source close to situation reported on Monday.

Entering its second year under the ownership of Vivek Ranadivé, the Kings are expected to be bullish on the free-agency market and trading front in hope of landing another All-Star caliber player.

According to sources, the Kings have been pushing to acquire the 28-year old Smith from the Pistons. Both teams have been engaging in trade talks since for quite some time, but negotiations were put on a halt before the start of the free-agency period.

Share This Story

However, ESPN NBA correspondent Marc Stein reported that the Kings and Pistons revived their trade talks with the purpose of upgrading the previous trade package of Jason Thompson, Derrick Williams, Jason Terry and draft picks.

"The Detroit Pistons and the Sacramento Kings have resumed trade discussions on a deal that could send Josh Smith to Sacramento, according to sources with knowledge of the talks," Stein stated in his article.

Stein indicated the Pistons attempted to work on a sign-and-trade deal with the Portland Trail Blazers for restricted free-agent Greg Monroe, but the deal died after the Blazers backtracked and signed Chris Kaman to back up Robin Lopez as their center next season.

"Sources said the Pistons also seriously discussed various sign-and-trade scenarios this month that would have landed restricted free agent Greg Monroe in Portland, but the Blazers ultimately pulled themselves out of the race for Monroe by signing free-agent big man Chris Kaman to join Robin Lopez in the Blazers' center rotation," Stein reported.

The Kings believed Smith will be a perfect fit to their already formidable starting lineup of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. Smith had a subpar production in the first year of his four-year, $54 million deal, averaging 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.

However, Kings top-brass values Smith's defensive prowess highly and are confident the 6-foot-9 forward could help the team improve this particular area immediately.

"Sacramento is looking for better defensive players for a squad that ranked 24th in the league in points allowed per game, and Smith has long been one of the best defenders in the league capable of shutting down forwards and most guards."

There are also speculations that the Kings will try to acquire Smith and then his former prep-school teammate Rondo next via trade or free-agency in the summer of 2015.

Join Our Conversation

Travel Tips

Peru is a cultural hub filled with unique sights to see, amazing cuisine, a plethora of activities, and is definitely somewhere worth putting on your travel bucket list, but there are a few things to know before planning your trip.

Most Popular

AirAsia Search Area – The search for the missing bodies from the AirAsia flight QZ 8501, which crashed Dec. 28, 2014, has officially ended. According to the head of the Indonesia rescue agency, the search for the bodies at the Java Sea ended Tuesday night.

Ryanair $15 Flights – Ryanair, Europe's largest discount airline is reportedly going to begin flights to the United States, with some seats selling for less than $15 each way. The board of the Irish-based airline OK'd adding the Ryanair $15 flights Monday, ending years of conjectures of when the airline would eventually turn its sights to North America.

In what seems to be the precursor to a real-life Terminator movie, dozens of anti-robot protesters rallied near South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, yesterday, protesting, of all things, the rise of artificial intelligence technology. They were evidently concerned by the rise of artificial intelligence, and showed their disdain for ‘thinking machines’ with signs, shirts, and other protest memorabilia.

Fuel Truck Overturns – A tanker truck passing through Prince George County had overturned at the Interstate 95. The incident occurred Tuesday morning. The said truck had been carrying more than a thousand gallons of biodiesel fuel.

Recently, North Korea made another bold display of its military might by launching a ‘cutting-edge’ anti-ship missile on the nation’s east coast. The launch happened just as the United States held the last day of joint military exercises in South Korea. As expected, the North Korean’s statement caused further tension with the West, especially with their neighbors in the south. This news got people asking: Are there any North Korean Missiles aimed at US territory?

Alligator Golf Course New Orleans - The rather shocking incident during the 2013 Zurich Classic of New Orleans recently happened once again. This time, the reptile was spotted at a golf course at the Myakka Pines Golf Club in Englewood, on Florida’s west coast.

Baby Utah River – An 18 month old baby girl was rescued from an upturned vehicle at the Utah River 14 hours after the deadly crash. While the mother was found dead, rescuers found it miraculous that the baby survived the icy temperatures. However, the most surprising incident from the rescue was the fact that rescuers had heard cries for help.

Jihadi John Apologizes – Mohammed Emwazi, also known as The excecutioner ”Jihadi John" in a slew of Islamic State videos, has apologized to his family for the trouble he has caused them after he was identified as the masked ISIS militant butcher from Britain, The Sunday Times of London reported.